About Us

For over three years, Harvard OCTAVE has been providing musicians in Harvard and surrounding communities with opportunities to perform live music. OCTAVE is dedicated to curating performances that our audiences will love.

OUR HISTORY

Harvard OCTAVE opened it's doors in May of 2023 when founder Tony Kelley had a vision to assemble a clarinet ensemble in preparation for the IHSA Solo and Ensemble Contest the following spring. After assembling a group of 6 clarinets, Tony ordered the ensemble piece he had chosen since the beginning. During this process, several other people of various instrumentation asked to join because they don't get many opportunities to play during the summer months. Tony had to turn them down being that his was an ensemble only for clarinets. When the music arrived, he came to the realization that he has accidentally ordered the saxophone ensemble version rather than the clarinet ensemble. At this point, he felt it was fair to invite all other instruments to join the ensemble. Just after their first rehearsal, they received an invite to participate in the Milk Days Talent Show, so of course they accepted.

After performing in the talent show, Tony received many other invitations to perform. One of which being the Greater Harvard Historical Society. They later performed at the society and the history of the old Harvard City Band was explained to the audience members. After the performance, Tony received many comments stating that the ensemble should become the new city band. At this point, Tony joined forces with co-directors Ari and Christie Schiller. Together, they built the new city band, now known as Harvard OCTAVE. To this day, they are showcasing amazing performances for Harvard and it's surrounding communities.